Development of lutein nanocarrier and evaluation of its effect on retinal angiogenesis in the hyperglycaemic animal model.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a frequent microvascular complication of diabetes and a
major cause of vision loss globally. DR ranked as the fifth most common cause of preventable
blindness and the fifth most common cause of moderate to severe visual impairment. The low
bioavailability of the drugs at the target site imposed by the anatomic and physiologic barriers
within the eye requires long-term treatments with frequent injections that often compromise
patient’s compliance and increase the risk of developing more complications. In recent years,
much effort has been put towards developing new drug delivery platforms aiming to enhance
their permeation, prolong their retention time at the target site and provide a sustained release
profile with reduced toxicity and improved efficacy. Hence, the present study aimed to enhance
lutein bioavailability and bioefficacy by encapsulating it in a hybrid polymer-lipid-based
nanocarrier system. It is hypothesized that the “Lutein loaded nanocarrier system enhances the
solubility, stability bioavailability and bioefficacy of lutein and also helps in slow and controlled
release of lutein at the target site to modulate oxidative stress and inflammation in delaying or
preventing retinal angiogenesis through the restoration of angiogenic markers in STZ induced
diabetic rat”.